“What?” Lorenzo hissed before glancing at Zhongli and falling silent again. There was a murmur of dissatisfaction from the right side of the hall where Zhongli’s allies had congregated, and many vampires seemed to be searching the hall for Lan’s small, white form.

But Beatrice knew the elder would not be found; Lan’s earlier appearance in the inconspicuous grey robes suddenly made more sense. For whatever reason, Lan had delayed Zhongli and Lorenzo. To what end, she had no idea, but as she looked around the room, she realized that Tenzin, Giovanni and her father looked pleased, and Lorenzo and all the vampires on the other side of the room looked annoyed.

That was probably a good thing.

“We cannot decide this matter without Elder Lan,” Zhongli conceded in English. “Lorenzo, you may remain at the palace as my guest until his return. All here”—he glared at the six elders surrounding him—“will guarantee your safety upon this sacred island. And to Elder Zhang’s guests.” He turned to Tenzin. “And to yours, Mistress Tenzin, we will guarantee safety as well.”

Giovanni stood casually in the center of the room. He nodded toward Elder Lu and Elder Zhongli in the center thrones. “No one under my aegis would doubt the honor of the Eight Immortals. We stay here at your leisure.”

After that, the hall turned back to the business of the night and hummed with energy again. Lorenzo was whisked away by Zhongli’s entourage, and Tenzin walked over to speak to her father, leaving Stephen and Giovanni in the center of the room, both wearing completely blank expressions. Finally, her father nodded to Giovanni and brushed past him, walking toward Tenzin, who reached her hand back to grasp his.

Beatrice wondered whether she was just noticing, or whether they were now being more open, but the intimacy between the two was apparent. They almost seemed to circle each other, reacting instinctively to the other’s movements as they passed through the room and out one of the side doors, leaving her alone with Baojia.

Giovanni was speaking with one of Zhang’s people in a low voice, and the room began to swirl around her. She turned to Baojia, who was watching her. His steady, silent presence remained at her elbow as she felt her exhaustion begin to creep up. She gave one last look at Giovanni, who was still deep in conversation, before she raised her eyes to her silent guard.

“Can we go now?” she asked.

Nodding, he took her arm and led her toward the back doors, where other vampires and human servants were exiting the hall and dispersing through the palace grounds.

“I will wait outside your room until Giovanni can join you. You should get some sleep.”

“Will Lorenzo—”

“Do not worry about Lorenzo.”

“You know,” she said, shaking her head, “I’m pretty tired of people telling me that when he’s kidnapped me twice.”

Baojia pulled her to a halt near the base of a large white limestone rock dotted with tiny shells. He stared at her for a few minutes, and she was beginning to squirm under his steady gaze.

“Giovanni is embroiled in this,” he finally said. “He has many roles to play in this game. I respect that.”

Beatrice frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“I have one role to play here, Beatrice De Novo. I have one objective and one purpose. I was entrusted with your safety by your grandfather, my sire. I have one job, and it is you. So I tell you, do not worry about Lorenzo.”

He stepped closer, and the same flare of emotion she had seen earlier in his eyes leapt out again. Her heart began to beat more quickly, and a faint heat rose to her cheeks. Baojia’s eyes never wavered from hers, and she forced herself to tear her gaze away before she continued walking toward her room, his ever-present footsteps trailing behind her.

Chapter Seven

Mount Penglai, China

September 2010

Giovanni gritted his teeth as she left. The fact that Baojia had been the one to comfort her in her distress had not escaped his notice, even as he stood watch over the hall. His need to claim her had been overruled by caution, but he wasn’t pleased.

“Doctor Vecchio? Did you have any other questions?”

He turned back to Zhang’s administrator. “None. As long as Zhang can spare the extra security to make sure Miss De Novo is fully protected through the daylight hours, I am comfortable remaining on the island.”

The old wind vampire gave a respectful nod. “You honor us with your presence. And your support of Zhang’s interests will be remembered.”

“Thank you, Quan. Your master’s offer of protection will be remembered, as well.”

“Is there anything else?”

“I will return to Tenzin’s quarters at this time. I have some phone calls to make. I understand there is a phone connection on the island now?”

“Yes, a custom satellite system was installed last year. There are insulated phones that connect in each wing of the palace. I believe Tenzin does have one.” He leaned in a little closer. “The connections, of course, are shared. One must always keep that in mind.”

In short, don’t say anything on the phone that you don’t want spread around the palace. Giovanni received the veiled message with a quick nod before he took his leave from Elder Zhang’s efficient administrator.

He walked across the grounds, glancing toward the opposite side of the compound where Lorenzo was carefully sheltered within Zhongli’s entourage. He gritted his teeth and kept walking.

What was the wind immortal’s purpose? Why would he invite the water vampire to Penglai? Had his jealousy and paranoia of Tenzin finally reached its limit?